Dennis McCreight of Spring Valley caught a 14-pound, 8-ounce rainbow at Lake Cuyamaca last week and broke a lake record that lasted over 15 years, but that record may not last long.

Georgia Martin, general manager at Cuyamaca, said the lake received five trout that went more than 14 pounds in the latest stocking from Mt. Lassen.

Already, another angler, Eric Winterhalder, landed a 14-pound, 6-ounce rainbow, a catch that was witnessed by Rich Barthel and his son, Tommy, 10. The youngster had just lost an estimated 2-pound trout at the net, so his father felt he learned some valuable fishing lessons watching Winterhalder negotiate obstacles and finally land the big rainbow.

Barthel said his son learned an even bigger lesson after Winterhalder landed the trout.

Apparently, Winterhalder had misread the scale at the lake and thought he had broken the lake record set the previous day by McCreight.

“Although the record was his, Eric was forthright and honest about his mistake once he learned of it and immediately and without hesitation, took it upon himself to let the lake personnel know that he did not have the lake record,” Barthel wrote in an email. “What a great lesson in honesty and integrity for my son, Tommy, and all of us for that matter.”

Winterhalder’s trout officially is 14 pounds, 6 ounces, just two ounces off McCreight’s new trout record.

McCreight, 69, a Cuyamaca regular for decades, used peach Power Bait hooked to 3-pound test line to fool the 32-inch long rainbow. His wife, Linda, netted the brute rainbow. It beat the old lake record for trout of 14 pounds, 1 ounce set in October of 1995. McCreight plans to have the catch preserved by a taxidermist.

Still fit and at his weight in high school, McCreight battles a form of cardiomyopathy but doesn't let that stop him from fishing.

"Although his condition is not serious at this point, getting down to Lone Pine where the prime fishing hole is takes a toll on him," Linda McCreight said. "But you can't keep a good man down."

With barracuda and bonito keeping anglers busy closer to shore, there was another report of albacore showing a bit closer to San Diego. The Apollo out of Fisherman’s Landing was on the first of a five-day trip Monday and en route to Guadalupe Island when anglers caught eight albacore. According to the Fisherman’s Landing Web site, the longfins were caught at 230 miles from Point Loma.

On Saturday the Santee Firefighters Association holds its annual Kids Free Fishing Derby. Lakes 3 and 4 will be stocked with 1,000 pounds of channel catfish this week. Derby goes from 6-11 a.m. Must register by Wednesday at www.santeefirefighters.org.

Night fishing starts Friday at Poway Lake following a stocking of 1,150 pounds of channel catfish on Wednesday. Night fishing runs through Aug. 13 with fishing every Friday and Saturday until midnight.

The annual month-long Halibut Derby in May sponsored by Hugh Cobb’s Pacific Coast Bait and Tackle drew 271 anglers, an all-time high, Cobb said. Chad Butler of Carlsbad caught the top flattie, a 12-pound, 12-ouncer on a sardine at Aqua Hediondo Lagoon in Carlsbad. Paul Engle of Vista was a day late, landing a 39-pound, 3-ounce halibut on a Scampi lure at the mouth of Batiquitos Lagoon in Carlsbad on June 1.